The Prince and The Princess
by Mythisea
Summary: AU. Echizen Ryoma and Echizen Ryoza are new first-year siblings at Rikkaidai. Known as the 'Two Samurai' in tennis, the team welcomes them. Except . . . why won't they join? ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1 First Day

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own anything other than random characters not in the anime/manga.

**Warning:** I don't know if the current rating will change or not, or what the pairs will be, where this story will go … or how long this will be, or how often I'll update. But have fun reading, and please review so I can improve. (: I don't have a beta, so any constructive reviews are much appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter 1 – First Day**

"Everyone, please get to your classes! The first bell has rung!" A new teacher pushed his scraggly hair out of his eyes as they flitted across the grounds, making sure students were heading to their homeroom for first-day-of-school introductions. One group didn't move, though, a group wearing yellow sports jackets on the right side of the courtyard. He walked up to the group and tapped the nearest, a tall purple-haired by, on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, but it's time for class," the teacher attempted to say without his voice shaking, asserting his tentative authority. He was unused to his teaching position, and was hoping for an easy day with kind students. The purple-haired youth turned around with a beautiful smile that seemed to chill the teacher instead of comfort.

"Sumimasen, Sensei. We were finishing up our after-practice morning tennis meeting. We'll be on our way shortly." That smile again. The teacher nodded and excused himself, backing away slowly with a growing nervousness inside him, showing through in his own smile.

As he turned away, sighing in relief, he thought he heard someone say something along the lines of, '_He didn't mean any harm, Buchou. No need to scare him off.'_

A cold sweat broke out across the teacher's forehead. _The_ buchou of Rikkaidai? Yukimura Seiichi? The one who led the team to nationals, _twice_? Of all the regulars of the tennis club to talk to, it had to be him? The teacher increased his speed slightly, trying not to hyperventilate.

Once he was a safe distance away on the other side of the courtyard, he relaxed slightly, going back to his job of ushering lingering students indoors. Most were moving already, except two that caught his eye under a tree.

One stuck out like a sore thumb with her bright red-gold hair and petite figure. She sat with her feet tucked under her, leaning on the tree. A book was perched in one hand while the other was resting on her lap. Next to her lay a boy stretched out using the tree's roots and his arms as a pillow. As the branches of the tree shifted and filtered sunlight through, the teacher thought he saw a flash of free in the boy's dark hair before he was once again in shadow.

The two looked peaceful, if it weren't for t he occasional student running by and shattering the picture-perfect image while on their way to class. The teacher approached the two and cleared his throat to get their attention.

A faint snore was the boy's only reaction as he continued to doze. Expecting the female to be more reasonable, the teacher looked to her hopefully. She was placing a bookmark in her rather thick book, now that he got a good look at it, and tucked the book safely into her bag before looking up. The teacher almost wished she hadn't.

The look in her green eyes was enough to make a mountain run, too cold and expressionless to be human. Her look skewered the teacher, asking who gave him permission to approach them. The teacher hesitated for a second as he almost buckled under her stare before answering.

"Ano, sumimasen, demo . . . you t-two r-r-really sh-should get to class, you kn-kn-know," he half-stuttered, half-choked out. The girl made no move to reply, and simply kept staring at him as if she either did not understand, or did not care.

Right when the teacher was about to leave them be and run, the girl abruptly shook her companion and gathered her belongings before standing. The boy lazily opened his eyes, the color of fresh sunlight but as cold and piercing as the girl's, and slowly stood next to her. At their full height, the teacher vaguely noted that they were barely 150 cm, if that, before feeling the stare of both students now pinned on him.

Feeling as if he were under a microscope, he quickly backed away, sweating again, and ran for the school building.

All he could think of was, _Screw getting kids to class on time; what kind of school is this?_

* * *

Another set of eyes, or more precisely eight sets in the same general area, also watched the scared teacher retreat to the safety of the school. Now, they slid back to the two still standing beneath the tree across the courtyard.

"Sanada, those two are interesting, ne? Who are the, Renji?" One Yukimura Seiichi asked quietly, not wanting the two across the courtyard to hear yet, a mildly curious but still happy look on his face.

"Two new first-years, room 1-2, names: Echizen Ryoma and Echizen Ryoza, also known as the 'Twin Samurai' during their reign over tennis in America the past several years. Both disappeared simultaneously from the circuit four months ago, reason: unknown," spouted off a boy with closed eyes and a bowl-cut, reading from a small green notebook held in his hand, otherwise known as Yanagi Renji.

"Oh? Two famous tennis players at our school," came the sarcastic sneer from a curly-haired tennis player. "They probably couldn't last two minutes against us." Yukimura turned his angelic smile on the younger boy.

"So Kirihara thinks they should join as well? Let's go ask them, then," Yukimura turned and led the team towards the two, Kirihara staring speechlessly after him. One red-head chanced nudging him so he would move, but couldn't resist a small snicker as well.

"He got you again, Kirihara. Come on, don't want to be left behind!" The red-head elbowed him slightly before walking ahead to catch up to his doubles partner, but not before hearing Kirihara mumble something that sounded faintly like, _Shut up, Marui._

The two who had not bothered to move from under the tree had now seen the tennis group and watched them come steadily closer with their unwavering gaze. Yukimura was unfazed though. He stopped a respectable distance away before inclining his head slightly, which the two both returned.

"Ohayou, I'm Yukimura Seiichi, caption of the tennis team here. Sanada Genichiro here is my vice-captain, and these are the other regulars: Marui Bunta, Jackal Kuwahara, Niou Masaharu, Yagyuu Hiroshi, Kirihara Akaya, and Yanagi Renji. You two are first-years, correct?"

"Hai, I'm Echizen Ryoza and this is my brother Echizen Ryoma," the girl introduced, gesturing to herself and her brother in turn.

"Excuse me if this is straight forward, but aren't you two the 'Twin Samurai?'" Yukimura went directly to the question, continuing at the slightest of nods from Ryoza. "Would you two be interested in joining our tennis team here at Rikkaidai?"

"No."

For a moment, no one spoke from the Rikkaidai team as they tried to process what she had said.

"What?" was the only response Marui could croak out when he recovered.

"We don't play tennis anymore. Ja ne," Ryoma slowly explained it to them so they would understand in their current state before the two walked off to their class, not giving the team time to form an articulate response.

"That was … unexpected," muttered Renji. "My data is incorrect; I must recalculate."

"Don't rewrite it quite yet, Renji," murmured Yukumura while staring after the Echizens'. "They'll join our team soon enough." With that, Yukimura headed off to class, leaving the others bewildered for a minute, but followed soon after.

* * *

Ryoma and Ryoza paused at the door to their homeroom and glanced at each other.

"We can't join the team," sighed Ryoma.

"Right. No matter what we want to do, we can't," murmured Ryoza back.

"We swore to oyaji we'd never take up tennis again, and we need to stick to it." They nodded to each other once before entering the classroom and were engulfed by noise, the door sliding shut behind them.


	2. Chapter 2 Casual RunIns

**Note:** That was … unexpected. Compared to how many reviews I got on my stories from a few years ago, waking up to see 16 emails (20 by the time I've finished this chapter) in my inbox including Favorite Story, Favorite Author, Review Alert, and Story Alert was just . . . shocking. Major thanks to everyone who read my first chapter, and super thanks to those who reviewed! (: Your suggestions really help with what I need to work on. It's kind of intimidating to read how people have high expectations. Maybe I should get a beta, just so I don't disappoint you all. Seriously, all this in less than 12 hours made me want to update again, even though I was planning to work at a more leisurely pace.

One question in the reviews was about how someone can have "bright red-gold hair," and I don't think I did a good job of explaining that; what I'm thinking of is like a blond with an insane amount of natural red highlights, or the other way around, a red-head with natural blond highlights, but that general idea is either of those with red being the dominant color overall.

Same **Disclaimer** & **Warnings** as last chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Casual Run-Ins**

"Our tennis team really is the best in Japan, isn't it Niou?"

"Of course! That's what makes everyone want to join it, Yagyuu."

As Yagyuu was about to reply, a loud slamming of a locker door interrupted him. The two turned their heads to the right in time to see Echizen Ryoza stalk off towards Ryoma at the end of the hall, waiting for her so they could go to lunch. Instead of stopping upon reaching Ryoma, she continued to the right in the direction of the lunchroom, forcing Ryoma to jog to catch up.

"I think they heard us," smirked Niou.

"Indeed. Time to report to Buchou."

* * *

"They heard us, alright, Buchou. We made sure they knew how great our team was."

"Is that so? Good job, Jackal, Marui," Yukimura smiled before turning towards the next approaching group, Niou and Yagyuu. "Were you two successful?"

"Of course, Buchou! They heard us, and are probably on their way to sign up as we speak," Niou cheered while punching a fist in the air in celebration.

"I must disagree, Niou," Yagyuu stated, pushing up his glasses. "Ryoza stormed off, meaning they have indeed heard us, but are most likely getting annoyed at our efforts."

"Hmm, interesting. Kirihara and Renji reported no reaction, Jackal and Marui couldn't see them to report on a reaction, and Niou and Yagyuu reported them to have given an annoyed reaction," mused Yukimura to himself. Sanada, off to his side, knew that thoughtful look on his buchou's face. Before he could intervene, fearing for the Echizens' safety, the last group of two non-regulars in the club came up, panting. Yukimura turned his smile on them, wondering, "How did you two fare?"

"Not so good, Buchou. We even asked them if they wanted to play a doubles match with us, but the girl started shouting at us and dragged the boy off behind her," panted the second-year of the group, obviously braver, or stupider, than the third-year who was eyeing Yukimura nervously.

"Well," Yukimura started, putting on his angelic face, "that just leaves you and me, Sanada. I suggest we approach them afterschool." Sanada could merely nod in affirmation as the bell rank to signal the end of lunch, and Yukimura strode off, people giving him a wide berth because of his "angelic" aura at the moment.

* * *

Another pair was getting a wide berth that day was none other than the Echizens. No one dared get within three feet of an annoyed Ryoma or within five feed of a murderous Ryoza.

That morning wasn't as bad, just a few students getting snapped at by them. But as soon as class resumed after lunch, anyone with eyes could see how angry they were. No one, except the two in question, really knew what had set them off. Guesses ranged from their supposed cat dying to PMS for Ryoza. No one even remotely suspected tennis.

Between their first and second class, Kirihara Akaya and Yanagi Renji had somehow gotten behind them while walking and were talking rather loudly. One was saying how Rikkaidai was going to slaughter their opponents again this year, while the other was giving off percentages of winning like a robot. Neither mentioned recruiting for the team though, so Ryoma and Ryoza could ignore them relatively easy and pass it off as coincidence.

When Jackal Kuwahara and Marui Bunta had walked by their open classroom later, they had also been talking about Rikkaidai's tennis team, quite loudly too. What started annoying the Echizens was them mentioning how they could use one or two great first-years so the future of the team at Nationals would be set. Ryoma was half-asleep and only vaguely heard them, but Ryoza was wide awake and close to snapping her pencil in half by the time the two regulars had gotten out of earshot.

What got under Ryoma's skin were Niou and Yagyuu, though. When Ryoza was at her locker before lunch, those two were talking near her loud enough for him to hear, _at the other end of the hallway_. He could see that Ryoza was about to do bodily damage to them, and quickly followed her outside to try and calm her down.

The Echizens didn't even _know_ the last two tennis players who came up to them during lunch. They were just two unfortunate souls who caused them both to snap. Ryoma, being the less outspoken of the two, let Ryoza handle yelling at them for asking to play doubles. Even though Ryoma was trying to block out the argument and calm down, he thought her heard Ryoza yell at least two sentences with the word 'mom' in them. The two tennis club players looked like they wanted to cry by the time Ryoza was done and dragged Ryoma away.

Of course, no one had seen that last interaction, and therefore did not connect 'tennis' to 'anger.'

Normally, it was quite difficult to quickly leave after school because of the sheer amount of students hanging around talking, but because of Ryoza's murderous aura, the two encountered no obstacles. Unknown to them, another two followed, having no problem keeping up partly because of the path the first two left behind them and partly because of the "angelic" aura one of the latter two was admitting.

Yukimura and Sanada followed about twenty feet back, opting to approach the Echizens when there was no chance of an interruption or distraction. Unfortunately, or fortunately for them depending on how you look at it, the Echizens' route home passed some tennis courts, making the two being tailed come to a stop.

Ryoma and Ryoza didn't simply stop because there was a tennis court, no. They stopped because of what was happening on the tennis court they were passing. Two high school-age boys were playing doubles against an elementary school-aged team of a boy and a girl. To know the personalities of the high school kids, one only had to look at how the little girl was cowering behind the little boy, and the bruises barely visible on both their arms and legs.

Ryoma and Ryoza didn't hesitate to enter the court and stand in front of the kids as a shield.

Yukimura and Sanada could not hear exactly what was said, but they saw the anger coming onto the two boys' faces, and they watched as the two little kids handed their rackets to Ryoza and Ryoma's awaiting hands before moving off the court. Sanada made a move towards the confrontation in hopes of stopping it, but Yukimura held out his arm to stop him and shook his head. Before Sanada could ask Yukimura why he should not stop the match, the two teams on the court began playing, and Sanada quickly understood.

It seemed like the Echizens were taking out their anger on this one game. Ryoma served first, and Twist Serve after Twist Serve came, smacking into the opponents mercilessly. During their second game when returning, every rally ended with the tennis ball hitting one of the two boys somewhere on their body. It wasn't even the fourth game yet when the high school boys ran from the court, swearing revenge.

Yukimura waited until Ryoza and Ryoma returned the rackets and exited the court before approaching them.

That one match seemed to help the Echizens' temperaments a lot. They didn't look angry so much as tired as they watched the buchou and fukobuchou approach.

"That was marvelous, Ryoma, Ryoza. Quite the game," Yukimura praised them. They didn't bother voicing an answer, merely nodded slightly to acknowledge the compliment.

"You two are truly great players, as your reputation suggests. Would you consider joining our team?"

"Of course, we're only asking you to _consider_ joining, not if you will. After all, you two obviously still play tennis, ne?" Yukimura quickly interjected after Sanada before either of the Echizens could refuse. His angelic smile was almost threatening as he gazed at them. Ryoma and Ryoza shared a look before muttering their reply.

"We'll think about it," was all they said before walking off with a brief nod. Yukimura and Sanada watched them go, one of which was satisfied while the other was mildly surprised.

* * *

"We broke our promise to oyaji, but that can't be helped now," sighed Ryoza.

"The real question is if we should join the team. I want to, demo," Ryoma trailed off, locking eyes with Ryoza in a stressed look.

"We should consult her. She'll know what to do," was all Ryoza replied before she and Ryoma slid open the door to their home.

"Tadaima," they called simultaneously to their last remaining relative, their okaa-san.


	3. Chapter 3 Persuasion

**Note: **I originally wasn't going to type this up until Wednesday, but . . . I really want to get this chapter out so I can type up my next one. For those of you who think this fanfic is depressing now, just wait until next chapter. (: People at my school were giving me funny looks because I was cracking up writing that ridiculous chapter . . . but first, we have to get through this depressing one that explains stuff. And after glancing at the time, I can't type the next chapter up until tomorrow. Darn. Ah well, at least I'm a chapter ahead.

Hrm, this one's also a tad short.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, again! It really does brighten up my day to look in my inbox and see a list of "Review Alert" messages.

And special thanks to the reader who suggested a collaboration of two rather sadistic tensai, which you'll see a preview of at the end of this chapter. ^w^

Same **Disclaimer** and **Warning **about uncertainty of where this story will go.

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Persuasion**

"Okaeri, Ryoma, Ryoza," called a soft voice from the direction of the den.

Ryoma and Ryoza took their shoes off and left their stuff by the door, padding in their socked feet to their mother sitting on the couch.

Echizen Rinko used to be a proud woman, one who could rule over a large family with an iron fist. If you looked closely, you could still see some of her pride in the way she carried herself.

And yet, those who knew her only a few short months ago might not recognize her at first glance. She didn't "carry" herself so much as "sit" herself nowadays, and didn't bother with more than a messy bun in her hair to go with a similar navy blue robe each day.

Today was no different. She seemed to almost sink into the couch with the tea she was always sipping, watching tennis on television. She did not watch current matches though; she watched tapes of long ago. She watched tapes showing her late husband in what some would argue were his glory days.

Ryoma and Ryoza sat on the couch adjacent to their mother's, not looking at the television.

"How was school today?" Rinko did not take her eyes from the television as she asked.

"It was fine, Okaa-san. What did you get done today?" Ryoza politely answered out of pure habit.

"Oh, this and that," Rinko's attention faded as the late Echizen Nanjiroh scored another point on the television screen. Ryoza and Ryoma chose not to comment, lapsing into an uncomfortable silence on their part, but an oblivious one on Rinko's. All three were well aware of what Rinko's answer meant: she had only slept and watched these tapes again. It was several minutes before Ryoma chose to break the silence.

"Actually, we did do something interesting today."

"Hmm? What?"

"We played a game of tennis."

Rinko now turned her full attention on her children, not quite sure what to say to this.

"Come again?"

"Okaa-san, we played a tennis match today," Ryoza murmured to her.

"But, I thought, you and Ryoma," she stuttered, trailing off as she was not quite sure how to grasp the situation yet.

"Okaa-san, I know what we promised you back when Oyaji died, but these two high school boys were using Spartan tennis – Spartan! – on two little kids. We had to," Ryoma looked his mother in the eye, showing her it was the truth.

No one spoke again for a while, Rinko turning to watch the television while Ryoma and Ryoza hesitantly watched her. Once Rinko finished her tea, she set it aside and turned to face her children again. They were surprised to see a spark in her usually dead eyes.

"Do you want to play tennis again?" Rinko didn't avoid the question, just flat-out asked them. Neither answered, sharing an almost guilty, almost unsure look.

"Ryoza, Ryoma." Rinko reclaimed their attention before continuing. "I never really knew why you two quit in the first place. I supposed it had to do with his death and my _unstable_ state at the time, but I assumed it was just a phase that you would overcome. I never expected you to forsake the sport you grew up with, a racket in one hand and a ball in the other. At the time of his death, I thought it might be good for you two to take a break since it might be painful at first to continue. I suppose it also never seemed odd that without him here you wouldn't want to continue tennis immediately. After all, you never got a say in the matter since he was always pushing you. But, if you're only staying away from tennis because of my feelings, I won't have it. I won't break." Rinko smiled reassuringly at her children at first, but her confusion quickly grew as what she said didn't appear to make a difference. "Ryoma? Ryoza?"

"Mom, it's not like that," Ryoza finally said, not quite meeting her mother's now-alert eyes. "We did quit because of you, but it's not what you think."

"Then what is it?" Rinko demanded an answer, narrowing her eyes as Ryoma and Ryoza hesitated to answer at first.

"Okaa-san, when Oyaji died, he told us to 'keep you safe.' Since tennis was the main reason for you being in danger in the first place, we decided to quit tennis so we could live up to his words," Ryoma stated determinedly. Rinko's eyes widened slightly in shock before she carefully extracted herself from the couch and moved to sit between her children so she could bring them both into a hug.

"Oh, why didn't you tell me?" Rinko gently scolded them. "I don't think that was what your Oto-san meant at all. Yes, it was because of an old tennis rival that I was kidnapped, resulting in your Oto-san dying in a car accident to rescue me, but I highly doubt he would ever ask you to give up tennis," Rinko hugged her children tighter and was relieved when they hugged her back.

"You really think so, Okaa-san?" Ryoma murmured.

"Ah, I know so."

For a while, they just stayed like that, the three living Echizens in a family embrace while one late Echizen played his match again on the television, smirking the whole time.

"Okaa-san, we're going to join the Rikkaidai team and win the nationals," Ryoza promised along with a solid confirmation from Ryoma.

"Ganbatte, my two little samurai." Rinko glanced at the television just in time to see a close-up of Nanjiroh's grinning face as he won that match again, and would for eternity.

* * *

"Ryoza, you know, we can't go to practice until we turn in our forms and get you approved by the principal for the boy's team," Ryoma pointed out on the way to school.

"And we can't t urn in the forms until after school," muttered Ryoza.

"Ne, Ryoza, think you can put up with another day of recruitment?"

Ryoza only groaned in response as Ryoma flashed an evil smirk, getting ready to leave for school.

"Don't worry Ryoza, it can't be as bad as yesterday," Ryoma tried to pacify her. Oh how wrong he would be.

* * *

"Saa, so it's a go then?" Our favorite smiling buchou was on the phone this morning. He didn't mention his friend's name, most likely out of caution so he couldn't be incriminated.

"Saa, I wish I went to your school, Yukimura, just so I could see our plans for today," came a feminine voice that would freeze the sun with one word, making it the color of said speaker's eyes when open.

"I wish you were here to help pull it off, actually, but I'll make sure everything goes as planned. It'd be a shame for all of our planning to go to waste. Ah, and arigatou."

Sanada, listing to the two evil tensai finished their "angelic" recruitment plot and witness to some of the preparation spread across the table of yarn and cloth, feared yet again for the lives of two certain freshmen. Or at least their sanity.


	4. Chapter 4 Join Us!

**Note: ** Fair warning, but if you **don't** want to read a chapter that's like a clown on helium after blowing too many balloons, please skip down to the second-to-last line break on this page (that part's actually important to the story). The bulk of this chapter is a request from a reviewer (psst . . . if any of you want a scene/mini plot that doesn't compromise my overall plot, I'd be happy to include it), so if you **want** to read probably one of the most ridiculous chapters of any work of literature out there, please continue. (: I had fun with this.

Oh, and if you haven't seen a certain movie . . . you won't get it. D: But it's still chock full of randomness.

Same **disclaimer **and **warning **as ever. Seriously. I plan about three chapters at a time, . where this is going.

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Join Us!**

You know those days everyone remembers? The ones people talk about for ages, pictures get pasted throughout the yearbook, and it comes up at reunions 50 years later? And the people, the ones involved on both sides, you know how they're talked about for ages to come?

Today was one of those days. Ryoma, Ryoza, and all of the tennis regulars went down in history. As soon as the two Echizen's left the house, their day got progressively weirder.

Once they stepped out of the door, two men in business suits that vaguely resembled monkeys came into view standing beside a stretch limousine. One opened the door while the other gestured them in, bowing low. Ryoma, rolling his bike by now jumped onto his bike and took off with Ryoza following on her in-line skates. Never get in the car with strangers, kids, especially when they look like monkeys. You never know who they're working for.

Anyway, as soon as they got to the school about three blocks away, they knew something was up. There was a crowd of people gathered around the gate, tittering. Yes, tittering, because they were all girls. Ryoma and Ryoza glanced up, nearly falling over in surprise, but also shock that they didn't already see it. Stretched across the gate was a giant banner saying, "WELCOME TO SCHOOL, RYOMA AND RYOZA," with a tennis racket in place of the 'T' and tennis balls in place of all the 'O's. Ducking their heads in shame, they tried to blend in on their way to homeroom.

As they slipped into their homeroom, their wish of being unnoticed crashed and burned. Silence greeted the pair along with twenty wide-eyed stares. As one, the class pointed to Ryoza's and Ryoma's desks. Or at least where they should have been.

No one could really verify if the desks were still there, or if the mounds of yellow and red flowers in their spots actually went from the floor to about a seven foot height.

Ryoza marched over and started swatting her pile away while Ryoma only winced at the bright colors and stood back, letting Ryoza deal with it. After several minutes, Ryoza was very displeased to discover that their desks were, in fact, gone.

Right as she was about to spontaneously combust, the door banged open again and four tennis members came in carrying a large, red-and-gold plush chair, with another group right behind them. Everyone watched silently as they carried the chairs to Ryoza's and Ryoma's spots, set them down behind the piles of flowers that now barely reached three feet in height, bowed, and ran away.

Ryoza was getting a bit ticked off now. She sat down glaring at anything that moved, causing several flowers to wilt, but Ryoma was finding it amusing. He fell back into his chair and was asleep in minutes, immune to the glare Ryoza was now giving him.

When the teacher came in, she almost fell over in surprise. Before she said something to the two siblings though, twenty people not-so-discreetly shaking their heads frantically convinced her to just be quiet and get on with the lesson. Ryoza's glare helped her reach that conclusion as well.

Things turned pretty quiet after that. Ryoza calmed down immensely when the chair turned out to have a vibrator function, making it a massage chair. Sure, the vibrations were a bit of a disturbance to the class, but the teacher wasn't about to mess with Ryoza now that she actually looked somewhat peaceful.

Then came lunch.

As soon as they stepped out of the classroom, a cheer deafened them. Every five feet there was a girl cheering, "_Always win, Rikkaidai! Let's go, Let's go, Rikkaidai!_" They formed a path down the hallway, forcing the two unfortunate twins towards the cafeteria.

Upon arrival of said cafeteria, people were surprised to find the doors closed, making entry impossible. As Ryoma and Ryoza were about to find an escape route, the doors opened from the inside onto a transformed room.

Tables were pushed back, lights were off, two chairs sat front-and-center, and a ten-foot-long stage was set up. It looked like it was made for puppets because of the height.

Once Ryoma and Ryoza hesitantly took the two seats with rabid fangirls behind them, lo and behold, a sock puppet in a tuxedo with scraggly black hair popped up.

"Welcome, welcome, to the first ever Rikkaidai puppet show to celebrate tennis!" Everyone slowly blinked once, twice, at the puppet's almost expectedly squeaky voice. One person tentatively clapped in the back.. "Why, you! Clap! Damn it, clap for your sempai or I'll crush –." Two puppets shot up, tackled the one talking and dragged him back below stage. A throat cleared and this time a puppet with a bowl cut and glasses popped up, appearing quite the gentleman.

"Excuse our puppet-buddy, he has anger management issues." A loud thump could be heard from the other side of the stage. "Now, let us get on with our feature presentation, Sports Wars!" One lone light caught the puppet's glasses, giving them an evil glint.

The curtain fell, it was silent for a moment, and then slowly drew open again. A spotlight fixed on two puppets in Rikkaidai's school uniform, one a female with reddish hair, the other a boy with black hair that had something that suspiciously resembed bubblegum stuck in it.

"Hi there, I'm Lyoma!"

"And I'm Lyoza!"

Not even crickets chirped in the audience. Noticing the awkward pause, there was another thump from below the stage.

Dark smoke started coming out of the left side of the stage. A puppet took shape in the center of the cloud, dressed in black along with a helmet of the same color. A puppet dressed in white gear that looked like battle gear followed closely, holding a racket in it's mini-hands.

"And **I** am your buchou!" Evil laughter rang out as the one in black threw back his helmet-covered head. "Now, come, my two young kouhai, and I shall teach you the ways of the tennis side of sports!"

"No, Lyoma, Lyoza, don't!" A small bald-headed puppet came out of the right side. "They're evil! Quick, come with me! I will teach you the ways of the badminton force!"

At that moment, a waiter with closed eyes came up to Ryoza and Ryoma in the audience, offering them drinks. The smell alone was enough to turn their faces slightly green as they politely declined. The waiter with an odd handlebar mustache looked like he would be frowning if the mustache didn't cover his mouth, and retreated back to the cafeteria kitchen.

Anyway, back to the performance . . .

"You will join my team! Saa-ha-ha-ha!" cackled the puppet in black.

"No they won't, they will join mine!"

"Fight me for them, then!" The puppet in black pulled a red tennis racket out of nowhere while the short one pulled out a green badminton racket. The two charged each other and started whacking away. During the fight, the one in black's helmet was sent flying off into the audience, exposing what was underneath, sending Lyoza's and Lyoma's sock puppet hands to cover their sock puppet-mouths in gasps of horror.

"DEMON!" screamed a girl in the back.

Underneath the helmet was the scariest site imaginable: purple hair, closed eyes shaped like upside-down 'U's, and a mouth smiling like a 'U.' A cold wind blew through the audience, making them shiver as the sock puppet just continued smiling.

In the panic, the puppet in black smacked the short bald one upside the head with his red racket, causing him to fly off into the audience and straight into Ryoza's lap. The hand underneath was gone before you could see whose it was. Ryoza just stared at the puppet for a minute before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "disturbing."

"Saa, so I win." The puppet in black seemed to glide to the center of the stage, bowed with the puppet in white battle gear, and straightened to look right at Ryoza and Ryoma before the curtain slid shut.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, we hope you enjoyed our tennis-promoting show!" A very gentlemanly voice called out, ending the performance.

The spotlight also went out, and no one knew what to do other than just blink.

* * *

"Buchou, do you think they'll show?" Marui popped his bubblegum, holding his racket leisurely across his shoulders as the regulars made their way onto the court for afternoon practice.

"Saa, hard to say, but I hope so," Yukimura smiled dangerously before moving to the benches and putting his stuff down.

"100 yen they don't show," whispered Niou.

"You're on! They'd better show, my hand is still cramping and everything!" Marui hissed to him. A clank behind the regulars interrupted their betting as they all turned to look at the entrance to the court they were on, seeing two people enter.

"Niou-sempai, you lost that bet," drawled a smirking Ryoma.

"So you two have come to a decision?" Yukimura approached them with a smile, but it didn't strike the two as deadly. With identical smirks, there was no hesitation as the two responded simultaneously.

"We'll join."

* * *

**Note**: Anyone able to pick out who was which puppet? Every regular but Renji is one.


	5. Chapter 5 Secure A Spot

**Note: **Er . . . sorry this is so late. Not only did I have to make an outline for the next few chapters, but then I had no time to write. I actually finished this chapter on Tuesday, but I was hesitant to post it until I had done major editing. (hinthint Anyone want to beta? hinthint). It's amusing to realize my story is taking a different turn than I planned, though. I hadn't planned on one character appearing a lot, but, well, that has changed a bit now.

Same **warning **and **disclaimer** as every chapter.

**

* * *

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**Chapter 5 – Secure a Spot**

"Welcome to the team," Yukimura actually smiled, truly happy they joined, "but now we have to see if you're fit to be regulars."

"Eh? We can't have 10 regulars?" Kirihara complained, and for once his argument actually made sense. 10 regulars would give them an advantage, but Sanada was the one to answer.

"No, that would be problematic. Then one person would be a substitute and two would not be on the roster at all. It's time-consuming to figure out who would be in what spot, and there's also no fair way to decide. It's simpler to take care of the dilemma now," Sanada patiently explained.

Kirihara snarled slightly, expecting to be pitted against the freshmen since he was the youngest, but two other regulars stepped forward: Renji and Jackal.

"What?! Why are you two playing?" Marui asked aghast, since Jackal had no told him of this.

"We talked this over yesterday with Buchou and Fukobuchou. Jackal and I determined that of the 8 current regulars, we would provide the most use if we were trainers and not actual players. That is to say, if Ryoza and Ryoma win." Renji and Jackal turned now to face the Echizen's who answered their stare by straightening slightly. Even those two knew when to be serious.

Nodding slightly, Ryoza stepped into the court first, followed by Renji on the opposite side.

"Rough or smooth? Renji began.

"Rough."

Ryoza got to serve first, moving back to the baseline with the ball in her right hand and racket in her left. Once Renji was in position as well, she served. Renji's data was from several months ago, but was also recorded through watching her matches on television. To put it bluntly, it was out-of-date.

Her serve had increased in speed, causing Renji to be unprepared and scored, 15-0.

"215 km/h," muttered Renji to himself, adjusting his data and getting into position again. This time he managed to return her serve, but Ryoza quickly scored on the next point with a cross shot. After a few rallies, the score was one game to love, in Ryoza's favor. Now it was Renji's turn.

Renji attempted a fast serve, but since Ryoza and Ryoma had trained together all these years, she quickly caught it and began a rally. Eventually Renji got the point, and later that game. It wasn't until the fifth game that Ryoza finally turned serious, the score currently 1-3 in Renji's favor.

"I've collected your data now, Ryoza, so this game is as good as over." Ryoza didn't reply as she moved to serve again. This time her stance was slightly different, her feet at an off angle. Renji noticed, but had no time to compute how it would affect her serve before the ball shot past him at an incredible speed.

"220 km/h," he whispered, opening his eyes to evaluate her. She was already in that stance again, the ball in her right hand and the racket in her left, waiting for him to get in position like at the beginning of the game.

"Renji-sempai, what would you do if all the data you collected turned out to _wrong_?" Ryoza smirked slightly, fixing him with an amused stare.

Renji nearly chuckled at the irony; his one trump card against any data collector was being used against him, by a freshman no less, and now others knew it as well. '_If she figured that out just in this match, she's better than I was giving her credit for. I look forward to seeing her progress. Congratulations_,' Renji thought as Ryoza took the game.

The final score was 6-3. The two shook hands before walking off the court. Several people slapped her on the back as she walked back to the group of regulars she was now a part of, passing Ryoma on the way.

"Tough luck, Renji, to be pitted against her," muttered Niou. Renji turned to him with an inquisitive look, since geniuses don't get confused.

"Tough luck, you say? Not at all. I was able to gather some data in the end, so now I can use it to not only evaluate her true skill and potential, but I can come up with a training schedule to challenge her. Not to mention I have free time to create schedules for the rest of you as well," if Renji had been the type, he would have grinned easily as he said that last part. Niou only gulped audibly and backed away slowly, turning to where the next math was beginning in the courts.

Ryoma and Jackal stood facing each other at the net, ready to call.

"Rough or smooth?" came Jackal's deep voice.

"Smooth."

Ryoma got service. Both went to their respective positions, and Ryoma got ready to serve, the racket in his right hand. Using his polished twist serve, he kept his service game easily. Jackal took the next game, and the following one since he was used to the twist serve and knew how to return it, but Ryoma broke his serve in the fourth game with his Drive B. A slaughter much like the end of the previous ensued, Ryoma winning with a final game count of 6-2.

"Welcome to the regulars," Yukimura smiled as clapping started up around the court. Unbeknownst to the regulars inside the court's fencing, many of the tennis club members as well as some other club's had stopped at the fence to watch the game.

"Ah, congratulations. You deserve it, that was a fine game," Jackal nodded in acknowledgement before turning as Renji came up.

"Jackal, it would seem we are now the regular's trainers. Let us make sure they improve _drastically_ under our care," Renji was serious as he said this, making everyone grimace a little at what was to come, except the ever-smiling Buchou.

"A-ah. Let's, Renji." Even Jackal was a bit wary of working with him.

The spectators around the court dispersed now that the matches were over, students heading home and club members going to practice. It wasn't until one person was left watching the 10 tennis club members that Yukimura acknowledged him.

"Fuji, I wasn't expecting you to drop by."

Sanada paled slightly at the smile Yukimura sported, since only he knew the two had collaborated to get the Echizen's to join.

"Saa, I just wanted to see the recruits you wanted to join so badly. I'm glad to know my plans worked, especially after seeing that impressive display." Part of that caught Ryoma and Ryoza's attention as they inwardly shuddered at that earlier play. "I do wish I could have been the puppet wearing black though," Fuji finished sadly.

"Ah, it was a shame you couldn't help with the production. Ryoma, Ryoza," Yukimura motioned them over since they had been backing away, "meet Fuji Syuusuke, tensai of Seigaku."

Ryoma and Ryoza muttered a greeting, vaguely noticing that the rest of the team, including Sanada, had all retreated to the edge of the court almost. What was so intimidating about this feminine tensai, other than that he had helped Yukimura plan that play?

"Yukimura, did you end up using that last plan involving the home economics room, more of Atobe's henchmen, and fashion designers?" Fuji was giving off an "angelic" aura and smile that rivaled Yukimura's.

"Sadly we did not. The designers couldn't find enough leather and sequins that quickly, so it was impossible," Yukimura's smile widened slightly at his teammates' reactions.

Ryoza and Ryoma had incredibly confused looks on their faces, but were also eyeing Fuji in slight distrust now. Sanada had managed to remain calm since he had already heard part of _that_ plan and was prepared for it, but everyone else was now huddled together for fear of attracting the devils' wrath that included leather and sequins. Whether the leather and sequins were for the Echizen's or the regulars, no one wanted to know, and kept believing it was the other.

"Ah, I have a great idea!" One could almost see the vampire bunnies and black sunshine radiating off of Fuji as he spoke. "Why don't you all join Seigaku at Kawamura's sushi shop so we can all meet each other?"

"That's a splendid idea! When, though? I'm afraid it's too late to set that up tonight."

"Saa, how about tomorrow, say around 6? That's plenty of time for practice to end and for everyone to get a bit cleaned up."

"We'll be there. That is, if anyone is still alive after practice tomorrow." Yukimura had demented puppies and spiked flowers radiating off of him now, scaring his team members.

"I'll look forward to it, and I'll also be sure to inform my team that we'll have guests."

The entire team gulped at both impending dooms tomorrow: practice and dinner.


	6. Chapter 6 First Day of Torture

**Note: **I really don't know how to express how sorry I am at not updating. D: I got way too caught up in . . . stuff that's going on. So now, I'll inform you all of a few changes.

1) This story will **not center** on a pairing, though I may add one in for fun. Yes, I am a fan of Yaoi.

2) The **genre** of this story has changed. Obviously I am no longer aiming for a romance because of (1).

3) I don't remember when I did this, but the rating of this story is now **T**. I completely redid my overall plot; I decided it didn't fit with what I had written so far (I know, big author booboo right there).

4) I will try to update as soon as I can, but be aware that I'm now taking a few community college courses along with my high school ones. It gets hectic.

5) I have no beta, and I can't proofread my own work very well, so ignore the occasional misspelling please.

That's about it for now. Enjoy the slightly longer chapter. (:

**Warning: **Mild OOC, lack of plot, no set direction to where the story's going.

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own this, kthx.

* * *

**Chapter 6 – First Day of Torture**

Surprisingly, regular's uniforms in the small size with their names were already prepared. When Ryoma asked, the still-present Fuji and Yukimura just smiled at them knowingly. They didn't push the topic.

So the next day, many people were surprised to watch Ryoza and Ryoma show up at school with tennis bags and regular's jackets.

For the sake of their sanity, the two Echizen's quickly snuck into their classroom after seeing the other eight main members milling around outside. Looking like they were waiting for someone. Or two someones. No idea who those two unfortunate souls could be.

By the time lunch rolled around though, they knew their efforts were in vain.

Not two minutes after lunch began, Marui and Niou burst into the room and snatched an unsuspecting Echizen duo just as they were about to pull out their lunches from their bags.

Upon grabbing them, the two regulars dragged them out the door and down to the lunchroom, right up to a table where the other six sat.

"Ah, so you could find them," Yukimura smiled and nodded, or it could be described as ordered, towards the four empty seats on the opposite side of the table. Jackal sat at the end of said row across from Renji, with Sanada, Yukimura, Yagyuu and Kirihara sitting in a line stretching down that side of the table. Marui spun the chair in front of Kirihara to claim that seat, while Niou seated himself across from Yagyuu. Ryoza bravely, or obliviously, took the seat across from the Buchou and Ryoma across from the Fukobuchou.

"Any reason we got dragged down here?" Ryoma barely suppressed his annoyance at the force used against him and Ryoza.

"No specific reason, just a team bonding lunch," Yukimura answered them peaceably, knowing already of their short tempers. "Also, I wanted to be sure you two were here today for practice. Renji?"

"Ah, here they are," Renji walked over with four wristbands that landed heavily on the table. "We'll start you at three each. Eventually you will work your way up to fifteen."

The others would have laughed at the expression of distaste on Ryoma and Ryoza's faces if they weren't wearing their own weights already. Oh, how pain brings people together. Ryoma and Ryoza slid the weights on their wrists, rolling them around a bit before nodding.

"Saa, now that that's taken care of, time to eat a big lunch! You all will need it for practice this afternoon."

Niou and Marui in particular paled and started shoveling as much food as possible into their mouths.

x - x - x

"Everyone, line up!" Renji called out to the regulars, along with Jackal. Even Yukimura lined up with everyone horizontally to Renji on the track, who was holding a stopwatch in his hand.

"Yo, Jackal, why are you lined up?" Marui popped his bubblegum, standing next to him.

"I am acting as a pace today. My job is to do laps in 1 minute, 30 seconds."

"And I will be timing," cut in Renji, "so anyone who finishes a lap after Jackal will do one hundred push-ups before rejoining."

"Wait, how many laps are we doing?"

"As many as you can. Don't worry; I'll make sure you get a profitable training session."

"Ready, Renji," Jackal called, bending slightly to get into a better starting position.

"Ah," Renji glanced to make sure everyone was ready before yelling loud and clear, "Go!"

"All the regulars were keeping pace with Jackal's near sprint, but none went so far as to pass him in an effort to conserve energy. As the end of the first lap came up, everyone sprinted in front of Jackal slightly before slowing again once passing Renji. This time they stayed slightly in front keeping a constant distance between them and Jackal.

Now Jackal, Jackal was one of the players with the best stamina on the team. After the tenth lap, he picked up the pace. Ryoma and Ryoza were the only ones still beside him now, the others having gone slightly ahead. They fell back to follow in Jackal's wake as he passed everyone on the outside with his new pace.

"Heh?" Marui was panting now since he had one of the worst stamina, and was quite miffed that Jackal picked up the pace.

Five feet away from the end of the lap, Jackal nearly sprinted over, catching everyone except Ryoma, Ryoza, Yukimura and Sanada off-guard.

"Everyone who finished after Jackal, I want one hundred push-ups, now!"

"No fair! He sped up right before the line!" Niou gaped at Renji open-mouthed as Renji only pointed at the football field.

"A good tennis player always keeps control of the pace of the game. Being caught off-guard could cost you the match." Niou had the ability to look slightly shamed as he and the other regulars deserving punishment trudged out and started doing their push-ups. The four who had kept up with Jackal kept running.

"Saa, one hundred push-ups is sure to help your strength, so be sure to do them all," Yukimura smiled, in a way that promised death if they disobeyed, at the group as they began their resident data-master's form of torture.

The four survivors of the dirty trick kept running, being sure to keep five feet ahead of Jackal, now a bit wary. It wasn't until the last lap that things got interesting.

"Last lap! Whoever comes in last will have to drink this," Renji motioned to a container of an orange, yellow, and pink liquid, "Sadaharu's new prototype: The End, a tropical juice."

The regulars doing push-ups gasped and turned their pitying gazes at the four still running for their lives. Ryoma and Ryoza were mildly confused since they were new to the area, but attempted not to show it. Sanada, for a stoic person, looked absolutely frightened; his eyebrows had gone up 1/10 of a centimeter (a rough estimate from Niou's spot). Yukimura looked like he was having fun on the outside, but if one looked closely they could see how his usual carefree smile was a bit strained.

Almost unnoticeably, Sanada sped up by a few inches. Unfortunately for him, the three people he was running against in this battle were all scary observant people. Yukimura calmly caught up with a sadistic smile, and after a glance at each other, so did Ryoma and Ryoza. What started the true fight for survival was that Ryoma had seen a toxic-looking bubble pop from the drink, splatter on the ground, evaporate into green steam, realized the danger to his life, decided to alert Ryoza, and the two shot off in a cloud of smoke. Everyone has limits to their self-control.

As they shot past, Sanada and Yukimura gaped at them before sprinting forward as well. Poor Ryoma and Ryoza though, they were much shorter, so their legs and therefore strides were shorter. Buchou and Fukobuchou caught up easily enough. Mildly cautious, definitely not scared, frightened, or petrified of the "juice," the two chibis booked it to keep pace with the luckily-really-tall players. Ryoma couldn't help but notice the inequality here in size; would everyone in Japan be this much taller than them?

In a last ditch effort, it was every man, or woman, for himself or herself. All the regulars sitting on the field now were a bit glad to have received a punishment involving training.

And the poor, unfortunate soul that got to drink The End was . . .

Marui?

Everyone stopped and stared at Marui who was almost straddling the finish line with where he was standing on the track.

"Marui-sempai, what are you doing?" Kirihara broke the stunned silence.

"Err. . . I was just crossing the track back to the center. Why is everyone looking at me funny?"

Everyone respectfully turned away as Renji approached Marui with The End. Or was it an act of pity that they didn't watch Marui suffer?

For most, they didn't watch Marui's suffering because his screams told them all they wanted to know . . . in a colorful manner.

x - x - x

"We're eating _here_?" Kirihara mutter at the restaurant, voicing the thought no one else dared say in front of their Buchou. It was a respectable looking shop, yes, but tiny. Small. Miniscule. Only a few tables. Yukimura only hummed lightly and walked in.

"Konbanwa, minna!" Yukimura smiled, trying not to laugh at the antics of everyone.

"Konbanwa!" rang eight voices belonging to the Seigaku regulars. Tezuka and Fuji were the only ones not participating in the ridiculous scene, so Sanada and Yukimura made their way over to their table, dragging the twins along.

Marui zeroed in on the special dish Momoshiro and Kaidoh were fighting over, jumping into the fray with an unwilling Jackal. Yagyuu and Niou only snorted and made their way towards Oishi and Eiji. Niou and Eiji proceeded to glare at each other and start a battle over sushi. Poor Oishi and Yagyuu couldn't do anything but watch and sip their tea. Renji went with the obvious choice and perched on a seat near Inui, taking out his notebook. Kirihara, a bit miffed at being the odd man out, made the sensible choice to join in the battle of Momoshiro, Kaidoh, and Marui. Eating sushi can get intense.

Anyway, back to the 'sane' (in the sense that they weren't 'insane') group of Tezuka, Fuji, Yukimura, Sanada, and the Echizens.

"Ah, Ryoma, Ryoza, how was your first day of practice?" Fuji probed, not missing how they seemed a bit tired.

"It was good; we had incentive to run thanks to Inui's juice, The End, though," Ryoma glared mutinously at the data master who was experimenting with sushi as the group was speaking. Fuji chuckled and ruffled Ryoma's hair, earning himself a glare.

Ryoza looked on knowingly (Ryoma vaguely recalled her mentioning something about "Women's Intuition" when he asked her about that look), Tezuka and Sanada didn't react more than the slight shift of their weight, and Yukimura only smiled a bit wider.

"Well," Tezuka cleared his throat, "dealing with harsh training is part of being a regular." Sanada nodded in agreement.

"So being a regular means ridiculous training, ne?" Ryoza snorted, raising one eyebrow.

"It's part of it, but not all," Fuji looked between the two Echizens, "I would say being a regular means using your resources to your benefit."

"I would define it as not letting your guard down."

"Hmm, I would say having a good attitude," Yukimura chipped in. Everyone looked at Sanada since he hadn't voiced an answer yet.

"Being a regular means making vast improvements," he gave in and muttered.

"Hoi hoi, you all are telling the chibis what it means to be a regular? It's definitely being flexible!" Eiji called to their table, gaining everyone else's attention.

"Ridiculous. Being a regular means taking data."

"Ah, and using it to bring down the other team."

"Che, it obviously means winning."

"I think it's more about trying your best."

"It's definitely all about the awesome moves!"

"Don't forget great teamwork."

"A regular definitely means adapting and tricking your opponents."

"It's about doing what needs to be done in the politest way possible."

"I tend to think it's more about watching out for your teammates."

"Bah, it's definitely about being super powerful, it is!"

It was silent for a moment as everyone turned to face the last person in the room who had yet to speak, other than the Echizens. He seemed deep in thought for a moment, and everyone leaned forward in anticipation.

"Fshuu, it's about . . ." everyone strained their necks to hear, ". . . harsh training."

If this were an anime, everyone in the sushi restaurant would have done a face-plant on the floor with their limbs twitching in the air.

x - x - x

"Japan's as awful as I remember it."

A young man stood outside the airport, glaring at anyone who passed too close to him. A few girls stopped to giggle at him, mesmerized by his foreign blond hair and ridiculously bright blue eyes. A duffel bag was slung over one shoulder, a sport-looking bag over the other; they looked well-used.

"Guess I should call up those two cowards and see if they'll _grace _me with a match. I wonder if they even changed their numbers," he muttered to himself, pulling out his cell phone. He tried to turn it on since it had been off for the flight, but the screen mocked him by staying blank.

"Che, battery's dead. Their old man mentioned Seigaku once, I guess I'll see if those two traitors are there," something flashed in his eyes as he said this. The two girls who were ogling him couldn't name exactly what they saw, but it scared them.

What could have brought about that look? The girls only watched him walk off towards a waiting cab, hoping they wouldn't regret not stopping him.

Whoever "those two traitors" were, the girls couldn't explain why, but they were afraid for when the blond might find them.


End file.
